I get a lot of of writers asking why I don't shut down my submissions inbox occasionally, as other agents do.
It's simple: I have an acute case of FOMO. And it's not a lot of work, to scroll through my subs to find the ones that interest me. #amquerying #askagent #askanagent

BIG NEWS 🎉
Francesca Riccardi (@friccar_) joins Kate Nash Literary Agency as a Literary Agent. We couldn't be more thrilled.
#askagent #WritingCommunity

Definitely not, unless you’re querying NF. I think many agents understand that social media can be incompatible with many authors and unsafe for others. I personally encourage it for those who feel like they can, and help my authors, but I have never looked at follower count

Assuming you have the English language rights and a license/permission from the translator to do so, try it! Be upfront with what you have, and include sales info and stuff. If you have an agent already, they may be best suited to handle English rights

Everyone has their style. I would go with either jumping into the start of your blurb or “Due to your interest in X, I am excited to share with you TITLE, my GENRE book, complete at WORD COUNT”

Gives relevant info up top and personalized a bit

I don't think so, but it is a harder sell. YA features challenges and emotions of teens, and so I would wonder why the adults have a say. Late 30s is pretty removed from teen years (vs. like, 22), so consider whether the pov is strictly needed. If so, stand by your work!

Definitely looking for a long term partner to work with on many books. Someone who has a great book, but is willing to edit, who has a unique perspective and tells stories I haven't heard.

Red flags are ignorance, intolerance, rigidity, or refusal to communicate

I will always consider things that fit my list, so if your book fits other elements, then there's no reason not to query (unless there's someone else at Bradford you want to try). But I really don't get horror. I tend towards sunshine rather than darkness, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah, it's not great. And we can see in QM if you do. If you're querying, it's not just for one book - you're looking for an agent for all books. So even w/ 2 very different genres, you're still breaking the rule. Instead, try informing the one of the new book and offering it too

I liked to start w/ "Due to your interest in X, I am excited to query BOOK, my Genre novel complete at word count." That both introduces why you're here & gives relevant information you'd have later on. And it avoids the "I'm querying you bc you're here" problem I faced at times

Definitely still popular! Lots more SFF editors are expressly looking for romance as well, and it seems like some romance editors are open (ish) to fantasy). I don't think it's overcrowded yet, and by my list, the limiting factor would still be SFF imprints.

And yes please.

The first pages should set up the big conflict for the book - that can be internal or external. I think it is helpful to see an inciting incident, to understand what made them introspective. Diving into 10 pg of thoughts could feel like exposition or info dumping, so be aware

In your bio, you can say "I've written X books, including several others in the same universe/several in Y genre you like", so it's a fun fact, not a crucial detail. It should come later, after the blurb and genre/word count info. But no harm in saying it!

For NF, definitely. But for fiction, not really. Especially now, agents understand SM to be very toxic & unsafe for some ppl. I'll do a cursory look to make sure there's nothing concerning, but I've signed two people with virtually no SM presence.

If someone asks for 10, send 10. It's hard to say for sure - agents know 10 pages is not very much, and there is a lot you can learn from just that. But take a hard, editorial look. Can you move things around, so the thing happens earlier? Or is there more room for hard cuts?

So, I don't ask for synopses bc they're hard to write. Book jacket is more like your "pitch" or query blurb. Synopsis should hit all major plot points and should definitely have spoilers. The agent wants to know the full arc in a synopsis, no need to hide the ball.

Teens/young adults handle difficult stuff all the time. Darker themes are appropriate (see, Hunger Games), so it will depend on how it's written. Age of characters is not always age category - YA has big feelings, coming of age issues, among many other things that distinguish it

You can call it historical literary fiction. Make sure an agent likes a literary voice and style, or that an agent who reps lit fic likes historical. But make sure it is literary vs “upmarket” (more like book club, mix of literary & commercial).

Unfortunately, you do need a full draft to query. Most places won’t accept unfinished manuscripts. I’d try finding writer groups or critique partners - they can be an invaluable resource in feedback before you’re too deep

I only rep YA, but I’d say when you query you should feel like it’s ready to publish. Get it as far as you can on your own, and then send it out. There are other steps forward, like critique partners and beta readers who can help get it query ready